Filed under: Hearing
Hearing is usually one of those abilities we take for granted—until we lose it. Make sure your children know the importance of hearing, and help them by encouraging healthy hearing habits. Just like helping them make healthy food choices or exercise, you can help your kids learn healthy hearing habits. The Department of Defense has a Hearing Center of Excellence that does research and provides educational information on the importance of hearing for optimal performance. Last month they wrote a blog on nurturing healthy hearing habits in your children that offers the following three tips:
- Talk to children about the importance of protecting their hearing in their everyday lives. Awareness of noise pollution is the first step towards a lifetime of healthy hearing.
- Make it fun. HCE has links to online tools such as an interactive sound ruler, games, and videos. (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has a fun “Noise Meter.”)
- Make it a family affair; discuss how you deal with noise and demonstrate what you do to protect your own hearing, such as turning down the sound on video games and MP3 players. Your children will follow your example.
If you instill good hearing habits in your children now, they will be ready as adults to cope with the kinds of noise pollution that have been leading to hearing loss among Warfighters.